UPDATED: Evacuations still in place after boulder sparks order near Harrison Lake

The evacuation order for several homes along Rockwell Drive near Harrison Lake is still in place. The homes were evacuated in early December, a month after a 50,000-pound boulder came down in the residential area of Rockwell Drive.

Distict of Kent mayor John Van Laerhoven says a local state of emergency was declared as a precautionary measure for those residents living on a select number of properties on the east side of Rockwell Drive, north of Thunderbird Creek.

He says local municipalities are waiting for geotechnical assessments to be complete before they make any changes to the order. Evaluations will be done on a week to week basis.

District of Kent Mayor John Van Laerhoven says no one hurt and only a garden shed damaged following a boulder that came down in #Agassiz. Several homes evacuated Sunday + local state of emergency declared. District is working to assess slope. Follow @AgassizObserver for more

“The rock that’s sitting there isn’t going to hurt anybody. It’s not going to move,” said Van Laerhoven. “We’re just concerned about the slope behind those properties.”

“Life safety is paramount for our citizens living in this area and the evacuation order is an extra precautionary step to address a potentially serious situation with the freezing weather in the higher elevations.”

Van Laerhoven said it wasn’t yet clear how long the evacuation would last but that no one was injured and the only property damage was to a garden shed of a property on Rockwell Drive.

Kent Harrison emergency program coordinator Gerald Basten says District staff are conducting a preliminary assessment and will be working with the province to have geotechnical assessments done on the rock bluffs at Rockwell drive.

“Once the professional engineers go in and have a look we’ll know a lot more,” he says.

The public is asked to limit travels to the area of Rockwell Drive if possible. Information on emergency planning can be found here.

More to come.

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Five homes have been evacuated near Harrison Lake over concerns about the stability of a Bear Mountain after a giant boulder slid down into a residential community last month. Nina Grossman/The Observer
Concerns that another freeze-thaw cycle could loosen rocks on Bear Mountain have led to the evacuation of five homes along Rockwell Drive.